Ad-vent-ura

[out_of_order]

WHO: BD-1 and DATA (with special guest stars, Cal Kestis and Tony Stark)
WHERE: Warrens
WHAT: Side characters get up to some mischief
WHEN: During Temba-splosion '23
WARNINGS: N/A


You couldn't have a ventilation system and not expect a Jedi to consider the potential pathways therein. It was just unfortunate that all these particular vents were so small, otherwise Cal would have been headfirst up in one by now. He doubted he'd be the only one two- surely Jedi couldn't be the only ones who saw the advantages to such spaces.

He and his droid studied the open grate above them. It had been easy to remove when you had the Force. Arms set akimbo, Cal looked down at BD-1.

"You sure about this, buddy?"

Not that he was really questioning his little friend's bravery. But if anything happened, Cal wouldn't be able to do much.

Comments

[out_of_order]

That was only mildly relieving, but all the same, Cal tucked the lightsaber away again, still watching as Tony tried to reestablish connection.

BD-1's song abruptly cut off as he registered DATA's dilemma, but the spherical bot was too fast for him to catch up. As he went pinballing off of the walls of the vent, the little droid beeped frantically in alarm. But finally DATA came to a halt, BD-1 darting over with a flurry of inquiring sounds.

He paused, scanning the goop that was all over the other, head angling downwards as he scanned whatever traces were left along the vent floor itself. Huh! Some sort of organic substance? Where did it come from? The droid hooted thoughtfully as he looked around the vent. Were those sounds he was picking up? Hopping over to DATA, BD did his best to avoid the mess on the ground and on the ball himself as he brought a toe up to tap at that domed body.

[in_extremis]

DATA didn't have his own voice to respond, only the slow extension of his legs to carefully search for an unblemished surface to touch down and start tapping in acknowledgement. His camera rolled toward BD-1, shuttered slowly, then darted to aim back the way they had come and the junction where he had captured the image of a Barry. He had to lift himself up out of the dark sap, his eye dropping toward it as he stretched clear then went scuttling out of its range. There were streaks through it now where DATA had disturbed it, but it hadn't been an organic puddle. There was a pattern in it that DATA did his best to interpret as his legs carried him back toward the junction.

[out_of_order]

With little warning of his intent, BD-1 squawked in surprise as DATA started at him, jumping back as the other skittered past. He followed after, dancing between the gobs of sap until it was clear enough, pausing a moment as he watched, but soon enough he was racing after DATA again. Going back and forth was standard procedure, so at least the droid wasn't going to offer any complaints.

[in_extremis]

There was a Barry waiting for them, watching DATA's delicate approach and BD-1 bouncing after him. When DATA paused briefly in front of the plant guard, they assessed each other roundly. There was definitely something new beyond the Barry, so DATA's eye was darting again, and he made a very gentle attempt to manoeuvre his way around the guard, with his full strength, and all of his legs, not particularly discouraged by the frustrated tapping of the Barry. He could tap, too! DATA also was not discouraged by the fact that he was just making random noises. That was clearly what they both were doing.

[out_of_order]

Oh! A tiny local. BD-1 slowed as he came up behind DATA, chirping a greeting at the little guy. He watched the strange interaction between the two, head tipping in consideration. He even scanned the Barry as the tap wars went on.

Hm. What was it trying to say? The droid cocked his head again. They didn't seem random or merely frustrated knocks. BD-1 wasn't sure what else to make of it though, although he did offer an inquisitive borble. Looking down the way the Barry was...guarding? he moved to carefully try maneuvering around them to scan the tunnel beyond.

[in_extremis]

The vent was not designed to accommodate all three bodies abreast, and DATA was not getting any new information from the noises they were sharing. Everyone needed to stop, so DATA helped by tangling several legs in BD-1 again, and trying to scoop another around the Barry so they could all be very still for him to take plenty of pictures of the tunnel beyond, and the delicate pulley structures that he could see shivering up another vent.

[out_of_order]

The droid gave an indignant sound at being caught up in DATA's legs again, giving an experimental wiggle before dropping his head with an exasperated tone. He wanted to see too!! His new situation was not going to keep him from beaming his own scanning light down and as far as he could manage.

[in_extremis]

Eventually, enough didn't happen that DATA accepted that he could release this party and move on to the next thing to record. He did this by retracting all of his legs and dropping back onto the ground, where he rolled back a few feet with a sticky sound as the sap that was left on him clung to the vent and left new prints behind. DATA stopped to consider them, then BD-1 like the droid might be able to explain this development, before rolling very quickly in a tight circle to leave more, slowly fading impressions. Tony would like to know what they looked like, surely.

[out_of_order]

Oh, gross. BD had been in all sorts of terrains and exposed to swamp water and sea but he still had no wish to partake of the sticky mess DATA had found himself in. He stepped back, watching the round bot circle about, glancing at the Barry before twittering and heading back the way they'd backtracked, mindful of the gooey tracks DATA had left from his initial passing.

[in_extremis]

After a few more swirls, the Barry also grew impatient with this display and started tapping again, which did effectively get DATA to stop and tap back cordially. The nonsense that DATA drummed did not earn an immediate answer, so he was off, following after BD-1 with a slightly sticky patch on his shell occasionally clinging as he rolled.

[out_of_order]

While he was still unsure of what to make of the mess of sap once he came upon it again, BD-1 decided it was probably better to keep an eye out for any other instances. Nothing had appeared to be leaking, but why else would there be such puddles?

He wasn't charging headlong as they had before, taking care to make note of every bit of vent they continued up before he came across more sappy marks on the vent floor. But these looked more intentional in their formation rather than the smears left in DATA's wake. BD hooted back at DATA in warning before edging closer to scan them.

[in_extremis]

More patterns! DATA came to a sharp stop, extending his legs this time to balance before he went careening into BD-1 and the sticky substance. This way, he could make a proper record before smearing it across the floor, then lift himself up to carefully tiptoe around it, his camera spinning to try to identify the source of the substance, map it in relation to the first appearance, try to extrapolate where another one might be. He wasn't going to confirm that equation by standing here, so he dropped back down to the ground to roll with great conviction.

[out_of_order]

The droid stepped back as far as he could manage in order to give DATA room. He looked back at the sticky marks again, but likewise had seen nothing to indicate the source. These were far too uniform to be mere drips from something. As DATA began rolling forth again, BD-1 cast a look back down the vent they'd come. Maybe...

With a dismissive beep, the droid turned to hurry after DATA.

[in_extremis]

The vents started to slope downward again, encouraging DATA to gather speed and begin to zip along again, seeing as much as he could as fast as he could, most efficient data-gathering. The branching paths whizzed by him, noted in brief scans, relative distances and total volume calculated as DATA continued to roll. Up until he was sailing over a ledge again, and going bouncing down deeper into the maze.

[out_of_order]

If this wasn't a ventilation system then BD-1 would have taken more time to sightsee and scan more than just walls. He continued building his own database as he skittered after DATA.

And then DATA was picking up speed and the droid called after him, another warning, a reminder even, of the last time the ball had gone careening forth. Which was why he wasn't surprised at all this time when the round one went falling out of visual range again. BD-1 gave a flustered noise as he rushed over to the edge, peering down before hopping down, activating his boosters to drop down after.

[in_extremis]

Undeterred by the fall, DATA was already righting and orienting himself, and only lingered to watch BD-1's boosters curiously. Even then, that mostly meant leaving the camera trained on the droid while DATA continued to roll on, so he was entirely unprepared to meet with resistance again as he bounced off another one of the shimmering shields.

"There we go--Jesus, what are they doing back here?" The tablet in Tony's hands finally displayed a stable connection just in time for him to be squinting at DATA playing with the lights again, this time bouncing his camera off of the forecfield to watch the shatter effect. It was a good enough reason to check how the map had handled the reconnection, and Tony watched it sketch in as DATAs records were processed with raised eyebrows to report, "Oh, they're far." He looked up toward the ceiling again like that would help him plan the route that would take them closer to the synthetics and started anxiously down the hall.

[out_of_order]

Cal breathed a laugh, even as he was simultaneously surprised at the progress once Tony's tablet caught up to the metal pair. Since he wasn't the one with the map, he followed after Tony as they started along again. "Which shield are they at?"

Another shield. BD-1 was pretty annoyed at those. They kept them from getting into things, what fun was that? This one at least had kept DATA from rolling straight into the blades of the fan, the droid noting that it must have been the source of the airflow they'd been detecting. As DATA continued crashing himself into the shielding, BD-1 shook his head, taking scans of this track before finding a narrow grating to peer through. Experimentally he poked at it, but he figured even if they did manage to somehow get it loosened, both he and DATA wouldn't be able to slip through. He let out a disappointed noise that sounded suspiciously like an electronic raspberry before realizing something as he updated his map.

Turning, he started beeping at DATA. Stop playing and look where they are!

[in_extremis]

It wasn't clear if DATA understood the noise, but he was certainly drawn to it, turning his camera up at BD-1 and only glancing back with some longing at the shield as he rolled on to see the next interesting thing. A small grate! Wonderful! He would tell Tony all about its every dimension. He could even slip his slim legs through it to try to touch along the walls beyond, bringing his camera eye up against the opening to consider the room beyond.

"They made it to those doors," Tony could report, picking up his pace to try to catch up with them before they got much further, worried the vents would easily carry them across that threshold that was so impenetrable to Tony.

[out_of_order]

DATA's leggies were met with a familiar resistance, another shield? They couldn't get out even if they wanted to, it seemed. BD-1 gave the binary equivalent of a sigh, but he put his head as close to the grill as he could manage, peering out to see whatever DATA was seeing. At least they could scan things. Kind of. It wasn't as fun as being there. And of course there was a control panel of some sort on this side! BD-1 looked longingly at it.

Cal stepped quickly after, brows lifting at the news. "Did they get past them?" he asked. He had a feeling the two would happily rush ahead if they were unhindered. And that wasn't exactly a reassuring thing to know.

[in_extremis]

"Kind of," was the best that Tony could provide, slowing enough to better share the screen with Cal so he could also see DATA considering this taunting control panel. "That must be on the other side. One way system. We're really not supposed to be in here." It seemed like a lot of redundant security to keep anyone from tampering with these machines, not a system designed to lock them in with it.

In which case, it should have been a lot easier to get out than it would have been to get in, and as Tony watched DATA scratch hopefully at the walls around the grate, he suggested, "We could ask one of the Funfronds to go in with them, with their little scalpels, open that right up. Then BD just does what comes naturally."

[out_of_order]

"Makes sense and doesn't. There should at least be a failsafe in case someone accidentally gets locked in here. But then that's speaking from being used to you know, reasonable designs?" He had no idea what the reasoning was here, everything they were putting forth were guesses at best.

Cal regarded the tablet screen, fingering his chin thoughtfully. "...I'm going to try something. Hope he keeps that image still." He closed his eyes, holding his hand out then towards the side of the door that the controls approximately were.

The Force was an energy field, encompassing, surrounding all things. It just took some discerning to figure out one thing from another. In a way, it wasn't too different from constructing a lightsaber, he thought.

Ah, found it.

Slowly opening his eyes as he held his focus, he looked at the screen, the controls there, far away as they were. But he could still see them. He drew in a breath, exhaling slowly as he once again closed his eyes and 'reached'. It was trickier to manipulate a control panel through the Force than just tapping at it by hand. Tricky, but not impossible.

[in_extremis]

Tony started to shake his head, ready to argue, only to swallow it with his tongue between his teeth and sheepish slope of his shoulders. Not everyone wanted to be challenged, he could work out just how much he thought the Atroma respected their wetware on his own, where Cal didn't have to get frustrated with him again. He clearly didn't need the distraction, though the silent gesture had Tony frowning at him, gaze flicking between the wall where Cal's hand was pointed and his face skeptically.

DATA's attention span was rapidly diminishing, making the image on the screen shift and drop, until he froze still peering out a sliver of the grate. He also couldn't see it, but was sensitive to an adjustment in the air pressure, a buildup of static, something was moving. It was the subtle depression of a button on the controls that he spied that had him tapping his legs happily against the vent walls, though he remained where he was. The result was Tony's head tilting as he squinted at the slightly vibrating video feed, reduced to a slash of information with the camera pressed up against the narrow grate, which made it very difficult to read a screen that suddenly activated. "Spooky," he observed. "Could you always do that? We have got to mess with Wesker later. It says it needs a key or something. Try...hacking it." That was vague, but what Cal had just done was also vague.

[out_of_order]

He'd never had to do this sort of thing with someone commentating, just barely managing to suppress a grin as he tried to keep his concentration. Like he needed any more reasons for Wesker to have it out for him!

But something had happened, and carefully, Cal snuck another look at the screen, brow furrowing a little more as he couldn't make anything out of the message displayed. He frowned, focusing again.

"BeeDee's usually the one who handles that sort of thing," he admitted, even as he tried to 'feel' around for what to toggle. With the distinct lack of impressions left in the place, it didn't leave him much to go by for hints in that department either, unfortunately.

"I don't want to accidentally lock us out of the system if I misinput anything." With some reluctance, he pulled himself back, letting his hand drop. He wasn't sure it would initiate some kind of shutdown of everything either, if someone was caught tampering with things, and right now, they needed very much to have things working in here.

[in_extremis]

With the synthetics still up in the vents, it probably was not worth the risk even if Tony didn't think there was much different between where they stood now, and being potentially locked out. Locked out might trigger some other security layer that finally spied the invasion of the ventilation, and while Tony wasn't about to admit that, he did welcome Cal's focus back with an appreciative pat through his hair that lingered to make sure he hadn't gone cold or frail or anything else that might happen if he had tapped into some energy reserve. Maybe that was anticipating too much logic from the magic.

"Okay, hey, we know there's something controlling this place, this is only one state of it, and we know there's someone with the clearance to operate it who walks around and has to press buttons." That didn't sound like much out loud, but was kind of a breakthrough, and DATA was moving away from his narrow window anyway to find yet another shield to bounce against.

[out_of_order]

Something like this wasn't too taxing, Cal making the slightest face before breaking into a brief grin at Tony's headpatting.

"Well, at least at some point, anyway," he had to note, but Tony's point still stood; it was an accessible point. They just hadn't found the right way to do it. Working backwards, it seemed like this was usually the case somehow.

BD-1 looked disappointed at the lack of further change on the screen below, but he stepped back, glancing at DATA as the sphere crashed into another shield. Really?

The droid went over to scan and study the way, blocked by a fan but the main point that impeded them was the shield DATA tested. He beeped after a moment. They weren't going to be able to get any farther this way, it seemed.